After qualifying for the Clash on Saturday night, Noah Gragson told the press that he had never seen so many middle fingers in his life and that it would be wild if the atmosphere carried into Sunday. Fans at the Bowman Gray Stadium made sure that it did and greatly lived up to the expectations that the rest of the world had of them.
Advertisement
The Front Row Motorsports driver did not finish high in the feature, finishing 20th, but had a memorable time. At the end of it all, he wanted one thing: to see a points-paying race at the Madhouse. He said, “I have never been to a race track with this kind of energy. This kind of atmosphere. So, it was unbelievable to be able to come up here to Bowman Gray.”
When asked if he would vote to bring the track back for a points-paying race, he simply said with a devilish smile, “F*** yeah.” Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott received victor’s honors in the race after beating Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin to the finish line. His win marks the beginning of yet another season of mad racing.
Would Noah Gragson like to see a points race at Bowman Gray?
“F*** Yeah” pic.twitter.com/TBKWSNsU2E
— Andrew Kurland (@AndrewKurlandTV) February 3, 2025
Since the Clash became a traveling fixture, so to speak, it has all been about the spectacle rather than the racing itself. It is all about promoting sponsors and giving fans a fun time at a race track. For the last three years, NASCAR pulled off exactly that at the L.A. Coliseum. This is why not many were pleased when it decided to shift venues to Bowman Gray.
The Madhouse is a short track with a far smaller audience, after all. Just as the naysayers were waiting for disaster to follow up, it never did. The promotion pulled off the impossible on Sunday. The celebrity spottings or the concerts that were prevalent in Los Angeles were not there in Winston-Salem. But they were replaced by something better.
What Bowman Gray lacked in glamor, it made up with history and enthusiastic fans. The track has seen more fights and broken egos in its past than a UFC match. A raw and rugged fight was expected between the stock cars, and it is what happened. Fortunately, there were no fists thrown since the Madhouse was on its best behavior. It still ended up winning the hearts of the racing world.
Moving the Clash to the Bowman Gray Stadium was never about growing the sport or bringing a fresh audience to watch a stock car race. It was about paying tribute to the the glorious history of the sport. NASCAR has accomplished that feat to perfection.
